Fluid container



Dec. 8, 1953 j c R 2,661,743

FLUID CONTAINER Filed Dec. 29, 1951 INVENTOR. Hus/4 M. Aka/545R BYZZZ;

4 T'TORNEV Patented Dec. 8, 1953 OFF-ICE.

7 CONTAINER Hugh M1;- Archer, Deal-born, Mich. n ii ii fn ee i r 29, 1951, SerialNog26LD23 The present invention relates to a sterile access device for adding and removing fluids from "con- 'tainers and more particularly to a novel pump and storage sacwhich maybeiuseid in connection with containers e'm'ployed'fo'r colleeting,v handling, processing, and storing "of blood plasma, whole blood, andbther fluids whichrequire aihigh dele of-s'terility;

, Thai-pump. and st ragefsac of the present inventio'nfiislpiarticularlyruseffiil with bot'tles, and bottle closures "and stoppers, which-permit either filling orfempty'ing of such. bottles Without displacement of'th'e stopper.. 'from the mouth thereof. The pumpandsac of the present invention are especially useful in the techniques employed in the collection of 'hlooiitrom donors, and, therefore, theTinventionis .des'cribedfin detail'for use in such bledii glprbcessesi Before. infusion. of. stored bloodinto aorecipient, a sp" oimen of the recipient's blood .anda sample of he storedgblood areniixedjtolmake certain that' they will react satisfactorily. f is. standar chprocedure e ven thoughfthe stored "blood has bee i previously typed and classified.

in the rocess; of collecting blood. from donors; it is pustomary. to obtainfa small sample of. lthe Ibloodl'tolbe used as a reaction'fsample at the time: or infusion into. the reci ient. This sample, comprising,approiiiinately IOldub'ic centimetl s in volume inmostieases; "is cdllecte'd in .a

smallgias test tube which is ithen.,.'fa'stened .to the side of the blood some by, "for .eiiample'ia pressure sensitive.adhesive tape. It has been foun'd'thatthe small test tube when fastened in this;. psition' oi-ten {becomes bro-kensor displaced {loss are unit o'fblood at a tim'e ivhenitiis-d'esperately needed to save ahunian'life.

It is, accordingly, an important object of the present invention to provide a novel sterile access device afiixed to a container which may be used to provide a sample of the fluid within the container without danger of contamination of the contents thereof, or to supply additional materials to the fluid within the container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sterile access device for use with a 3 Glaims. (Cl. 128 272) container used in handling, storing and treating of blood, plasma, serum va'cc'ines and the like under prescribed sterile conditions and inwhi'ch. provision is made for testing a portion ofthecontents of the container without affecting the: sterileconditions of the'fluid Another object of"-the;present invention is to provide a combination pu'mp and sac arrangement which "can be made fan-integral part of the; stoppers used as closures Torblood bottles which. will permit the simple and convenient withdrawal". and storage of 'ajsample from the -container at; any time after the .blefiiflfiof the donor in 'az fashion that will obviate cornpletely the possi-- bility of contamination or mismatching caused. by the inadvertent attachment or the incorrect; reaction or typing sample 'toithe bottle'in -questiona.

It is another object of thefpresent invention'tm provide a. simple and efficient container for col lecting and storing fluid whichcan be'easily and. economically manufactured.

Other objects of this invention will appear in: the following description andja'ppended claims, reference being bad to the accompanying draw ings forming a part 30f tl isfspecification whereini like reference characters designate corres onding: parts inthe severalviews;

.In the'drawings:

1 isga fmidse'ctional view; of the sterile 'ccess device of the present invention and illustra'ting the pump 'andjsac attached to. a "blood stopper of a jtypejinjcomm'on use, and showing the device prior to 1 removing a sample from the container. f v .Fig. 2 is a fragmentar .midsectional view of the pump and sac shown "in Fig. l'durin g the operationbf obtaininggarsarnple of .blood from a blood storage bottle.

Beforeexplainingthe present invention in dee tail, .it is to be understood that .therinvention is not limited in :itsxapplicationeto the :detailsgof construction: andi-arrangementiof gpartsillustrated in ;the accompanying drawings, since :the rinvene 'tionis capable of other embodirhents andaofiheing practicedpr carried outiin various ways.-- also; it"is to beunders'tooii-thait the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

With reference to the drawings, a body or stopper I having a hole 2 is shown extending into the neck of a storage bottle 2a. The end 3 of the tube 4 projects through the hole 2 and terminates adjacent the inner end thereof.

The tube and stopper are both preferably formed of a resilient material, such as rubber, although any suitable material may be used.

The tube 4 is provided on the end 5 with a sac comprising a relatively thick walled cup-shaped enlargement 6 and a concave diaphragm 8. The diaphragm 8 is preferably formed of an elastic or deformable material, such as rubber or other similar material. The walls of the enlargement 8, as shown, become thinner toward the periphery I. However, it has been found that the wall thickness is not critical to the pumping operation of the sac.

The concave diaphragm 8 is secured to the wall 6 adjacent the periphery l of the enlargement and :forms a pumping chamber therein. At the innermost or central portion of the concave diaphragm 8 is a small handle 9. In this embodiment of the device, the handle 9 is integrally cast as a portion of the concave diaphragm 8. The base portion in of the handle is made larger than the opening H to provide a reinforced seal on the end of the tube 5 when the bottle is evacuated and the diaphragm 8 is drawn inwardly into the enlargement 6.

In operation, when it is desired to remove a sample of blood from the bottle 2a, the handle 9 is pulled in an outward direction as indicated by arrow 12, Fig. 2, while the bottle 2a is held in a tilted fashion so that the blood 13 in the bottle covers the opening M in the stopper 1. The pulling action on the handle 9 on the inwardly extending diaphragm 8 causes it to move outwardly creating a void l5, Fig. 2, into which the blood flows. When suflicient blood has entered the void to satisfy the needs of the operator, the tube 4 is clamped shut at any suitable point such as at l6 using any standard clamping device. If the operator desires, the blood sample may be left in the sac or chamber for use at a later time. If it is to be used immediately, the sac may be separated from the tube by cuttin or the fluid may be withdrawn from the chamber by a needle or similar tool.

It is desirable but not essential that the walls of the pump and sac be made of a transparent or'translucent material so that it is possible to see the blood collected in the sac.

Some technicians in collecting blood prefer to bleed the reaction and typing sample directly into the storage device. My invention permits this procedure by the simple expedient of inserting the bleeding needle through the wall of tube 4 and permitting the blood to flow into the sac formed by the outward pulling of handle 9. In collecting the sample in this fashion, it is desirable to clamp shut the tube 4 at the point N, Fig. 1.

In addition to using the present sterile access device for removing a sample from the container, it may be employed to make small additions to a body of fluid within the container without impairing the sterile condition of its contents. For example, it is presently believed possible that stored blood periodically requires a quantity of additives to maintain it in a usable condition during storage. Such additions may be made to blood or other fluid within a con- 4 tainer such as by filling the sac at the same time the container is filled and then adding the contents of the sac to the contents of the container at any desired time. It will be understood that when the device is used for making fluid additions to a container, prior to the addition, the tube 4 is maintained closed, as at l6, by any conventional clamp or the like. In addition, it will be understood that the sac of the present device may also be used to remove a sample, if desired, after the additionshave been made to the contents of the container.

It is apparent from the foregoing that I have made it possible to make access to a container for sterile fluids and the like, in which a sample may be withdrawn from a sealed container for testing, or a fluid material may be added to another fiuid within the container without, in either case, impairing the sterile conditions within the container or requiring a breaking of the seal of the container.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A sterile access device for removing and storing a blood sample from a blood container, comprising a chamber having an inlet means and formed from a concave inner wall and a concave resilient outer wall disposed adjacent said inner wall, said outer and inner walls being connected at their peripheries, a handle aifixed to said outer wall for pulling said outer wall away from said inner wall to create a negative pressure within said chamber, and a flexible tube aflixed to said inner wall and extending therefrom for insertion into a blood container.

2. A sterile access device in accordance with claim 1 and being further characterized in that said handle is provided with an enlarged base portion to cover and seal the inlet means of said chamber during evacuation of said chamber.

3. A fluid receptacle for collecting and storing fluids comprising a container, stopper means to seal said container, a tube having one end extending through said stopper means into said container, and a sac secured to and communicating with the opposite end of said tube, said sac comprising a chamber having an inlet means and formed from a concave inner wall and a concave resilient outer wall disposed adjacent said inner wall, said outer and inner walls being connected at their peripheries, a handle afiixed to said outer wall for pulling said outer wall away from said inner wall to create a negative pressure within said chamber.

HUGH M. ARCHER.

References Cited in the file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 941,489 Beverly Nov. 30, 1909 2,492,328 Scotti Dec. 2'7, 1949 2,582,529 Curry et al Jan. 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 130,062 Germany Dec. 5, 1902 568,059 France Dec. 15, 1923 

